


Light and Shadows

by marvelsamwilson



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:27:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28256175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelsamwilson/pseuds/marvelsamwilson
Summary: After Sif goes missing on a secret mission, Loki goes on a journey to rescue her
Relationships: Loki/Sif (Marvel)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29
Collections: Mischief and Mistletoe 2020





	Light and Shadows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rories/gifts).



Shadows.

They were the only things she could make out from the faint flicker of light beneath the door of the room where she found herself. Every so often, a muffled pair of footsteps would cross past the door, its shadows briefly blocking the tiny sliver of light in an otherwise pitch black room.

Where this room was exactly, she did not know. The murkiness of the room obscured her vision, preventing her from making out even the smallest of the details of her surroundings. She could feel that there was a “bed” on which she slept, which more accurately could be described as a meager pile of straw strewn loosely across the hard dirt floor. The room smelled of death and decay, the pungent odor of previously rotted flesh hung heavy in the air. In the corner of the room there was an unseemly hole dug into the ground for her to relieve herself, and a bucket full of water for her to use to clean herself with.

Every day around roughly the same time, a single knock on the large wooden door would alert her attention, and she would bring the bucket to the door to be refilled. A sliding compartment on the door would open to reveal the hands of one of her captors, in them a tray full of unappetizing food she would receive once a day as she exchanged the bucket. A few seconds after the bucket was refilled and handed back to her, the compartment slammed shut, the metal of the brackets shrieking loudly in the silence.

“Is this to be the end of the great Lady Sif?” she thought to herself.

“No, not like this,” she scoffed. Not holed up in a foul, dark dungeon, rotting away like a spoiled piece of meat.

Sif couldn’t figure out how long she had been in this place, but she knew she wouldn’t last much longer. The Krylorians, she was told, were not the type to take many prisoners, and not the type to keep the few they did alive for very long. She had no idea of the intentions of her captors and why they had kept her alive as long as they had, but she assumed it would be to drag information out of her, no doubt related to Odin, King of Asgard.

The circumstances of her capture were murky to her memory. The last thing she remembered before waking up in her current prison cell was a massive battle inside the palace of the King of Krylor, as Sif and her fellow Asgardians locked horns with the dozens of royal guards protecting their King. Sif was attacking three warriors at once with her sword, when she was suddenly struck in the back of her head and blacked out. When she awoke, she found herself in the room she still occupied, with no explanation or information from her captors.

Her memory began to slowly come back, and she started to piece together more and more of what led her to this predicament. She remembered the day she received the secret message from Odin, delivered to her by one of his Ravens, requesting her appearance. When she arrived at the palace she was taken to his council room, along with a number of Asgard's highest ranking warriors, save for his own sons, Thor and Loki.

“Warriors of Asgard,” the Allfather voice boomed with its familiar tenor, “Your realm needs you for a mission of the utmost importance.”

The King of Asgard informed them as thus: Sif was to command a small infantry of elite warriors, for a secret mission on the remote planet of Krylor.

“Our intel has learned of a plot by the Krylorians to bring Asgard to ruins. They have uncovered an ancient weapon called The Styrn, which has the power to wipe out planets in a matter of seconds. This weapon was hidden long ago because of its destructive and uncontrollable nature, with the hopes that it would never fall into the wrong hands. But alas, the Krylorians have discovered the weapon, and intend to wield it upon Asgard, as recompense for a slight suffered long ago. You are tasked with infiltrating the King of Krylor’s palace where the weapon is being held in his personal vault, retrieving the weapon, and bringing it back to Asgard for safekeeping.”

After taking a moment to digest all the information she just learned, Sif felt a pang of nervousness and excitement fill her. Sif took her selection as commander of the mission as the highest of honors, validating her standing as the best and toughest warrior of Asgard’s army. She had always dreamed of a mission like this, to be entrusted with the safety and security of the realm she loved. But it also meant a great personal sacrifice, including her romantic relationship with Loki, Odin’s youngest son, with whom Sif had an intense and secret ongoing affair with. They had kept their relationship hidden from nearly all except Loki’s brother Thor, and their close friends Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg.

Because of the nature of the mission, Sif was sworn to secrecy - no one would know of her mission save for the other warriors joining her and the Allfather himself. When Sif told the youngest son of Odin the news of her departure, but not the details of where she was going or when she would return - it did not go over well. They spent the better part of that night arguing, and Sif left in the morning feeling sour about the encounter. But she was undeterred - her duty was first and always to Asgard. She boarded the aircraft chosen for her mission without saying a word of goodbye to Loki.

___________________________________________________________

It had been weeks since Loki had spoken to Sif. Even when they had their normal spats, it never took Sif this long to forgive him and speak to him again.

“Something must be wrong,” he thought to himself.

When he began to ask around, no one had seen or heard from Sif since the day she left either, not even Thor. When Loki questioned Heimdall about Sif’s whereabouts, he remained mum, not answering at all. That usually only happened when there was a secret he was bound to keep. That meant Loki had to go to the only other source who would know: Odin himself.

"Father!!!" Loki yelled vociferously as he stormed into the royal study, where his father sat alone, intently poring over a stack of ancient tomes. He didn't bat an eye or look up from his books at all, as he was used to his son's frequent interruptions.

"How can I help you, son?" he asked the young prince, the boredom dripping from his tongue.

"Tell me where you sent Sif...and the other Asgard warriors."

"It is none of your concern."

“Am I not the Crown Prince of Asgard, privy to the information of our citizens and military?”

“One of the princes, yes,” Odin pointedly corrected him,” but this matter does not and will not pertain to you, no matter how much you inquire.”

Loki huffed and folded his arms, realizing that the only person more stubborn than he in all of Asgard was his father, Odin. It was a lost cause. Loki turned himself and strode out of the room, letting the doors slam loudly behind him. While he didn't gain the information he was seeking, he did pick up an important detail from the tomes his father was studying - the title of one book in particular, "A History of the Planet Krylor."

Loki took this piece of information to his next stop, the Royal Library of Asgard. Unfortunately for him, when he went to check the databases, every bit of information pertaining to Krylor had been removed. He wasn't able to locate Krylor on any planetary map, and all of the registries had been wiped clean of its existence. "Most certainly father's doing," he thought to himself, as he exited the library. Once outside of the room, he leaned back against an empty wall, frustrated, wondering how he would find out Sif’s whereabouts. When the idea finally struck him, his shoulders dropped and he let out a loud sigh.

_________________________________________________________________

The light from the garish landing tower was blinding, causing Loki to squint as neon light flooded his ship window. He had commandeered a small single-passenger ship from the Asgard fleet, as stealth was the order of the day.

Loki made his descent towards the platform, letting the autopilot handle the delicate act of landing. Once settled, he exited the aircraft and headed towards the entrance tunnel, where he was greeted by a familiar face.

“He’ll be with you shortly. You will be escorted to his chambers, wait there quietly until he arrives. And don’t touch anything,” the brute voice instructed him.

“Good to see you too, Topaz. Did you miss me?”

The large, imposing woman standing before him grunted with disgust. Topaz was the personal guard for The Grandmaster, with whom Loki was seeking an audience.

“No love lost then, it is,” Loki retorted quietly to himself.

He followed her down the tunnel and through a winding series of corridors until they reached the large, colorfully decorated doors that led to The Grandmaster’s chambers. Loki entered the room and made himself comfortable on the chaise lounge in the corner of the room, before shuddering at the thought of how many beings had participated in sexual acts upon that very seat.

After a few minutes, The Grandmaster leisurely strolled into the room, so casual as to not even notice Loki sitting in the corner. His long-flowing, colorful robes swished about as he made his way around the chambers, fiddling with several objects along his many shelfs. He pulled down a vial of perfume and spritzed himself with it, never once looking up or near Loki’s direction.

“Ahem,” Loki coughed loudly.

“Ooh!” The Grandmaster exclaimed, his attention finally caught, “It’s you, Loofy!”

“Loki.”

“Right, Loki! What can I do you for? Are you back to compete in my contest?”

“No, never. I’m here for information. The whereabouts of a certain mysterious planet, to be exact.”

“That’s all? Information? You’re not here to party?”

“No, I’m not. This is a rescue mission and time is actually of the essence in this case, so if you could help me out, I’ll be on my way shortly.”

“And what’s in it for me?”

Loki groaned and cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the words that were preparing to leave his mouth.

“We can, umm, do that thing we discussed before.”

A look of surprise took over The Grandmaster, “You mean THE thing?”

Loki nodded solemnly in agreement.

“Oh great! Why didn’t you lead with that? Sure, I’ll get you all the information you need then,” The Grandmaster answered with a wry smile.

“Thank you,” Loki whispered meekly.

“So what’s this planet of yours we’re looking for?”

“It’s called Krylor. None of the Asgardian databases have any information on it.”

“Oh Krylor! I know that place, my brother has an assistant who was from there. Well, he used to...,” his voice trailed off, and his eyes wandered upward, as if he were accessing some memory, totally oblivious now to Loki.

“You have a brother?”

“Yes!” he shouted, snapping back into attention, “He’s not as famous or good looking as me, but he is known as Taneleer Tivan.”

“The Collector? Why am I not surprised?”

“Oh, right, yes, he does go by that title. Not as impressive as The Grandmaster, but I suppose it suits him and his line of work fine.”

“Back to the planet Krylor. Where can I find it?”

“The planet Krylor is the third planet from the star Aceta, in the Andromeda galaxy. Would take you weeks to get there on the ship you flew here with. Unless you use one of the portals.”

“Please tell me it’s not the ‘Anus’ portal again.”

“No no, it’s one of the smaller ones, but it will get you close to your little hidden planet.”

“Close?”

“Yeah you see, the Krylorians aren’t too fond of visitors to their world. So what you have to do is, take the portal to an outpost dwarf planet named Orcus, and then shuttle to Krylor from there.”

“Ugh,” Loki spat, “I’ve heard of that wretched place. The worst scum of the universe congregate there.”

“Oh good, you should fit right in then!”

Loki rolled his eyes and made his way towards exit.

“Don’t forget, after you rescue your lovely paramour, you’re due back here, to do the thing! Don’t make me have to find you!” The Grandmaster yelled as he walked out the door. Loki let out one last shudder as he quickly hurried back to his ship.

After a bumpy ride through the extremely narrow portal, Loki’s ship zoomed out into the blackness of space, hurtling towards a miniature rocky planet, barely bigger than an asteroid.

Loki docked his ship at the loading docks near a small harbor on Orcus. Right off the docks was a small establishment with a large sign that translated to “The Pit.” This was the place Loki had heard of previously, it was notorious for being a drinking hole for all manners of deviants making their way through the outer rims of the galaxy. Not wanting to draw attention, Loki draped himself in a black cloak, covering most of his fancy gold and green clothing.

The large wooden door creaked loudly as Loki entered, his eyes rapidly scanning the room for threats. The lights were dim and there was an overwhelming stench of stale ale lingering in the air. He noticed a couple of tables occupied by unsavory looking creatures, though they looked too busy swigging their drinks to notice his entry. Loki sat himself at an empty seat at the bar, catching the attention of the barkeep.

“What will it be,” the barkeep asked gruffly, not even looking up from the tankard he was cleaning out with a rag.

“No drinks for me this evening,” Loki stated plainly, “I’m here for passage to Krylor.”

“No passage tonight. Not for your kind,” the barkeep answered with disgust.

“Excuse me?” Loki shot back, confused.

“You heard me, Asgardian. We know your type, and you’re not welcome.”

Loki sighed, knowing the path that lay before him.

“Look, I don’t want to do this the hard way,” Loki said calmly, “But if I must, you’ll surely regret it.”

“The only person who’s going to regret anything is you, for walking in here.”

With the last word of the barkeep, Loki observed in his periphery several of the patrons rising from their seats and approaching him. One of the larger creatures reached out one of his six arms to grab at Loki’s shoulders, only to be stunned when his hand passed right through the body of the Asgardian.

All of the standing patrons stood around looking confusedly at each other, and then back to the barkeep, who shrugged his shoulders in response. All of a sudden the apparition of Loki dissipated, and several daggers pierced through the air, hitting each of the standing patrons with perfect precision, dropping them to the floor. In the very back of the tavern, a tall, hooded figure arose and approached the barkeep, the only other person in the bar still standing.

He pulled off his hood to reveal himself to be Loki, a satisfied grin covering his face.

“So now, how about that passage?”

The barkeep, clearly scared and flustered, answered, “Right away!”

He led Loki out to the docks, pointing him down to a medium sized space ship all the way at the end of the dock. Placing a gold medallion in Loki’s palm, the barkeep said to him, “Use this for passage. It’ll get you to Krylor and back.” Loki nodded his understanding and boarded the ship.

The ride to Krylor was surprisingly short, given how difficult it was to gain passage.

“Them Krylorians don’t much like visitors,” the pilot voiced over his shoulder to Loki, the only passenger on the vessel, "Only approved shuttles such as myself can enter and exit out of the planet freely. Anything else will be shot out of the air by their defenses.”

“So the Krylorians don’t take prisoners? They only kill intruders?”

“Far as I know,” the pilot replied, "Though I have heard rumors of a prison in the bowels of the royal palace. Can’t imagine what type of folk they’d keep there, though, The Krylorians are notoriously hostile and unforgiving.”

Loki gulped at the information, afraid of what would happen if he didn’t get there in time.

The shuttle landed shortly after their conversation, with Loki exiting the ship into a busy looking terminal full of other arriving shuttles.

“Should be able to blend in with the crowd,” Loki thought to himself. He left the terminal and found himself outside in the dark of night with no sense of where to begin to look for Sif. He saw a group of young looking Krylorians, with their distinctive bright pink skin and facial scarring, congregating outside of the terminal, and approached them.

“Where might one find the royal palace of the Krylorian King?” he asked the group of kids.

“The palace? Oh, that’s easy. It’s two cities over, in Mangesh, the royal city of Krylor. About a day's walk from here if you start right away.” one of the kids replied.

“There’s no faster way??” Loki questioned, desperate to get there as soon as possible.

“Not unless you’re rich and have a speeder, like those,” the second kid answered, pointing over to a row of speeder bikes locked up alongside the terminal.

“Got it,” Loki replied, tossing a couple of gold Asgardian pieces towards the kids feet, “For your troubles.”

Loki hastily made his way to the speeders, and with a blast of green magic, broke the lock holding one bike in place, and hopped onto the seat of the speeder. It wasn’t too different from the speeders back on Asgard, and Loki quickly figured out how to get the bike in gear. Just as he did, a group of angry looking Krylorians rushed out of a tavern across from the terminal, watching the scene unfold from the window of the bar.

“Hey! Stop! He’s stealing one of our speeders!” one of the beings angrily yelled, followed out of the door by six more angry Krylorians. Loki quickly throttled the speeder and zoomed off in the direction the kids had pointed him to. A few moments later, the rest of the speeders zipped behind him, piloted by the angry beings from the bar.

Loki sped up, pushing the speeder to full throttle, following the street signs for Mangesh. Luckily for him, the streets were barren of traffic due to the lateness of the hour, so Loki was able to quickly drive through the winding roads. The group of angry bikers gave close chase, almost catching up to Loki several times, hurling objects at him to try and slow him down.

When Loki saw an upcoming tunnel approaching, he had an idea. He turned off the lights of the speeder as soon as he entered the tunnel, and turned off the engine, engulfing himself in complete darkness. With a snap of his fingers, he created a duplicate of himself on the speeder, just as the other speeders reached the entrance of the tunnel. His newly created apparition zoomed along down the tunnel, fooling the bikers to follow.

Loki waited a good while until he was sure the bikers followed his deception in the wrong direction. He re-boarded the speeder and continued his journey to Mangesh. He rode for a few hours, following the road signs, until at the break of dawn, he finally saw the sign that read “Mangesh: The Royal City” in bold, golden letters. Loki gripped the throttles tighter, going maximum speed up the road.

Loki did not need to ask for directions to the royal palace, as it could be seen plain as day, perched atop a high hill looking down above the rest of the city. “Not all that dissimilar from Asgard’s royal palace,” he thought to himself.

As he made his approach to the road leading up to the palace, Loki noticed the heavy armaments posted outside of the palace gates. He would have to ditch his speeder in the woods alongside the road, hiding it from sight.

Using a cloaking spell, Loki was able to slip through the gates of the palace without notice. Upon reaching the doors, Loki saw that the entrance was heavily guarded with 10 soldiers carrying firearms. Looking to the side of the palace, another object caught Loki’s sight - an Asgardian aircraft, locked in chains outside of what looked to be vehicle storage.

“Sif...” Loki whispered to himself. His blood began to boil at the thought of harm befalling Lady Sif.

Loki began a full sprint towards the palace doors. There was no magic, no tricks, no deception. Only rage and desperation. The guards were so caught by surprise by the figure running full speed at them that they barely had time to react when the daggers began flying at them. Ten soldiers guarding the door, ten soldiers down with daggers in their throats. Once inside the palace, Loki encountered more guards, now on high alert from the intrusion. It mattered not, as Loki hurled spells at the oncoming guards, freezing them in their tracks. The ones who weren’t frozen had daggers thrown their way. A couple of the guards tried to ambush him from behind, jumping on his back and tackling him to the ground. As they lay on top of him, pinning him down to the floor, he produced two small daggers in his fists, flying them upwards into the chests of his captors. Their blood rapidly spilled onto Loki’s cloak, drenching him with their plasma. He threw their bodies off of him, raising up and grabbing one of their dropped blasters, which he fired at the remaining guards. An excellent shot with great aim, Loki made short work of the rest of the King’s defenses.

He didn’t have to go far before he found what he was searching for - a large pair of golden doors that could only belong to the King of Krylor. He swung open the heavy doors and entered the room. The lights were dim, and laid before him in a giant canopy bed was a pink skinned male with a generous amount of body hair, sandwiched on each side by a pair of pink, naked women. They were all blissfully asleep, unaware of the battle that took place just outside their doors.

“Your highness!” Loki shouted to the sleeping figures. They all rustled around at the sound, slowly waking up and rubbing their eyes to adjust to the morning light. The king finally opened his eyes, immediately screaming at the sight before him. Loki stood at the foot of the bed, blaster aimed directly at the pink chest of the Krylor ruler.

Loki nodded his head towards the door at the now shrieking women, giving them permission to flee.

When they were alone, just the two of them, Loki spoke again, "Where are you keeping the Asgardians?”

“Who? I don’t know who you’re talking about,” the king responded curtly.

“If you truly value your life, this palace, and your role as king, then you won’t have me ask the question again.”

The King gulped...

________________________________________________________________________________________

Sif had fallen into a half slumber, brought on by her lack of nourishment, her unhealed injuries, and her general malaise at being imprisoned. A commotion outside of the door broke her slumber, as she wasn’t used to hearing any noises outside of the guards walking by. The commotion died down for a few minutes, and after a moment of silence, the large door creaked open, flooding the room with light. Sif covered her eyes with the back of her hand, the light painful on her eyes that had seen nothing but darkness for several weeks.

She braced herself for the person entering to take her to be punished, tortured, or worse. When the slender and cool hands grabbed her shoulders, they had an extremely familiar touch to them - one that Sif had felt before several times over.

“Loki?” she whispered lightly, her voice hoarse from not having been used in weeks.

“My lady,” he replied back softly, his voice warm and welcoming, as he embraced Sif into a hug.

He felt her body convulse into a full sob, though he could not see her face to confirm.

“How...how are you here?” she questioned, her arms still clung tightly around his back.

“Later,” he replied. “We have to get you out of here. Quickly.”

He felt her nod in agreement, and helped her to her feet. Her legs were weak and she could barely stand without his assistance. She draped her arm around his neck and he helped her limp outside of the cell and into the corridor.

“We have to move fast,” he whispered, “more guards will probably show up soon.”

Sif’s eyes were still blurry and out of focus, but she was able to still make out the figures of the downed prison guards laid out all throughout the corridor, as Loki stepped over their lifeless bodies.

“You killed them all?” she asked.

“I had to do many a terrible thing to reach your location. Things I’d rather not wish to speak of,” he said as they made their way down the corridor, picking up speed.

“Wait!” Sif tried to yell, but it came out as a throaty whisper. Loki stopped in his tracks, confused as to what would make her stop.

“My sword,” she whispered. She very faintly lifted her arm to point towards the weapons rack stationed at the front of the prison corridor. Sure enough, alongside the numerous staffs, blades, and blasters, was the unmistakable sight of Lady Sif’s sword.

Loki hastily helped Sif towards the rack, grabbing the sword for her and placing it gently in her hands, not sure if she could even hold the weight in her current state.

She turned her face and looked him in the eyes, her eyes half closed and her face stern but tired and whispered, “Revenge.”

Loki chuckled, “Of course, dear. When you’re stronger.” She half nodded in agreement, before drooping her head back onto his shoulder.

Loki and Sif didn’t encounter any guards on their way out of the palace, though they did run into several of the king’s staff who were screaming at all the downed guards. Loki managed to get Sif outside of the palace doors, and swiftly headed towards the side of the building. Knowing he’d never make it to the speeder bike, let alone the airship terminal with Sif incapacitated at his side, Loki instead chose to go for the captured Asgardian ship. A green flash of magic dissolved the chains, and he loaded Sif and himself aboard the aircraft. Fortunately for them, the ship the Asgardians came in was fairly large with room enough to fit several people, plus a full med bay.

Loki had flown these airships several times before, so after strapping Sif into place in the med bay he was able to very quickly get the ship launched and hurtling through the sky. Just as he did, several loud blasts shot through the air behind him, the King's automatic air defenses attempting to knock them out of the sky. Loki dodged and swerved through each blast, narrowly avoiding being hit. He wondered how Sif and the Asgardians even managed to land on the planet without being damaged when the thought hit him, "The cloaking shield!"

Loki flipped a large switch that enacted the cloaking device of the ship's defenses, causing the aircraft to become translucent and disappear from sight. With the ship no longer in vision, the air defense blasts stopped and Loki was able to escape freely into the atmosphere.

Once they were a good distance away from Krylor, Loki set the ship to auto-pilot and set the course back for Asgard, choosing to skip going through any portals to avoid putting Sif at risk through the bumpy ride. The ship was stocked with enough food and rations to last the entire party for a return trip, which would more than suffice for Loki and Sif alone.

With the navigation settled, Loki headed to the back of the ship into the med bay, where Sif was asleep on the medical table. While not a trained medical specialist himself, Loki had spent enough time with his mother, Frigga, and the other Asgardian healers as part of his magic training to have a rudimentary understanding of how to treat an injured person. Frigga thought it important for him to learn how to heal just as much as he learned how to fight and cast spells.

Loki grabbed a pair of medical scissors and began to cut away at Sif’s clothing, which were dirty and stained, and reeked of the foul cell in which she was imprisoned. After disposing of the clothes, he began to wash and clean away at Sif’s bruised and battered body. He tended to each wound slowly and carefully, cautious not to make them worse. With a wet rag, he wiped away the dried blood around several cuts on her arms and legs, most likely the result of blade slices. He wasn’t sure of her exact injuries, but he could tell from the bruising around her ribs that she may have suffered some internal damage. He placed his right hand over the largest bruise, and slowly murmured a healing incantation, meant to reduce swelling. His hand casted a soft orange glow on Sif’s abdomen as the magic began to take effect.

Loki had witnessed Sif in a state of undress many times over, but seeing her this way, body bloodied and hurting, made him uneasy. Sif was Asgard’s bravest and fiercest warrior, and though he had seen her injured in battle before, he had never witnessed her in such a vulnerable state. After he was done tending to her wounds, he quickly grabbed some of the extra clothing from the ship’s storage to dress Sif with. He delicately lifted her body to slip a maroon tunic over her shoulders. As he laid her back on the medical table, Sif winced a bit, causing her to slowly wake up from her sleep.

“Loki,” she said, eyes slowly opening, “What happened? Where are we?”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” he reassured her, “We’re back on the airship, on our way home to Asgard.”

Sif’s face twisted in confusion, her memory of the events still not fully functional.

“What about..the others?” she asked softly. Loki’s eyes closed and his head dropped, reluctant to share the news.

“Please...tell me,” Sif begged.

“They didn’t make it,” he said grimly, “I checked the other cells before I got to yours. They were all...empty.”

Tears began to stream down Sif’s face. Loki ran his thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tears, clutching her face softly with his palm.

“I was afraid,” he paused, overcome with emotion, “I was afraid that I was too late. That all the cells would be empty, and that you would be...” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

He leaned his face into Sif’s, lightly placing his lips upon hers, kissing her slowly at first, and then more passionately. Waves of heat washed over both his and Sif’s body, Loki pulling her tightly into an embrace, still careful not to re-injure her. His long, slender fingers caressed her back, while her hands gripped tightly around his neck, using the little strength she had left to pull herself up to him. Sif opened her eyes again, still red and stinging from the tears, to look Loki in his eyes.

“Thank you,” she said breathlessly, still flustered, “for saving me.”

Loki replied quietly, “Sif, there is no corner of the universe I wouldn’t have gone to, no enemy I wouldn’t have faced, no being I wouldn’t have killed...to find you again.” His own eyes were now red and watering with tears. He couldn’t bear the thought of a world where Sif no longer existed.

“Now get some rest,” he said, laying her gently back down on the medical table pillow, then placing a kiss on her forehead, “you need to recover.”

Sif was too weak to argue with him, and promptly closed her eyes and dozed off.

The trip back to Asgard was going to be several weeks long, and without any piloting to do, Loki set himself up in the med bay, pulling one of the beds out of the sleeping quarters and setting it up next to Sif, so he could easily attend to her. He tended to her wounds each day, changing the bandages, applying salves and creams to help heal the cuts, and continuing to use his magic to heal her internal injuries. At night he would curl on his bed next to her, wrapping them both in a large blanket he found.

After a week of tending to Sif, she finally began to regain some of her energy, and was able to sit up for the first time. Loki was busy restocking medical supplies from the storage room when he noticed Sif sitting on the edge of the medical table, head in hands. He darted over to her, afraid she was hurting again, “Sif, what’s wrong??”

She couldn’t manage to look up at him, and slowly whispered out, “I failed.”

“Come again?” Loki asked quizzingly, confused at the statement.

“Loki, I failed,” she replied more forcibly this time, looking him in the eyes now, “I failed the mission. The mission that the Allfather personally selected me to lead. I failed and got everyone else killed. I don’t deserve to be here.”

“Oh Sif,” Loki said softly as he sat down next to her, “You didn’t fail. Your mission was doomed from the start.”

Sif blinked at him with bewilderment, “What do you mean?”

“The mission. It was doomed. The King had a spy in your party, who tipped him off about the mission. They knew when you were coming, and they ambushed you. It’s how you were able to get into the palace so easily.”

Sif’s mouth was now fully agape at the revelation. “A spy? How? Why?”

“According to the King himself, one of our own warriors had ties to a Krylorian woman, who convinced him to turn against Asgard. Spineless traitor. He was killed in the aftermath of your break in.”

“Wow,” Sif let out, still stunned by the news, “I can’t believe this.”

“I’ll be having a word with father about this, but rest assured this was not your fault.”

“But the Styrn. The ancient weapon of destruction, I didn’t get it! The Krylorians still have it and will exact revenge!” she yelped out anxiously.

“About that,” Loki paused, waving his hands and conjuring up an item.

“The Styrn!” Sif yelled, “How did you get it??”

“I made a little detour to the King’s personal vault before we left,” Loki smirked, “Just one of numerous items I poached while I was there.”

Sif let out a sigh of relief and joy, “And what of the King? Will he not retaliate for all that he has lost this day?”

“Don’t worry about the fair King,” Loki retorted, “I cast an immobility spell on him, reducing his heart rate down to a crawl. He’s not dead, but it will take weeks for it to wear off.”

“Oh Loki,” Sif laughed, throwing her arms around him, “Please, never change.”

“For you my dear Sif, never,” he smirked. He pulled her in close for a kiss, his lips fervently pressed against hers, body temperature rising. Sif wiggled herself some space, lips still pressed against his, to let her tunic drop down the table, leaving her bare.

“My lady,” Loki paused in alarm, “You’re not fully healed yet!”

“Loki, I’m fine,” Sif grinned as she laid herself down on the table, “Besides, I can let you do all the work for a change. At least until I have my full strength back.”

Loki sighed playfully, “If I must,” pulling his own tunic over his head and crawling on top of Sif.

“But please do tell me if I hurt you,” Loki pleaded.

"A little pain is not always a bad thing," Sif chuckled, pulling her lover closer. 

__________________________________________________________________

They awoke the next morning, bare bodies entwined together under the blankets.

“So how much longer do we have until we’re home?” Sif asked the young prince.

“Only a couple more weeks. But we do have to make a pit stop first.”

“A pit stop?”

“In Sakaar,” Loki coughed, “To pay a debt to The Grandmaster.”

“Oh Loki, no,” Sif shook her head, “Does that mean he wants to do...the thing”

Loki nodded silently, “Indeed. We have to do... the thing.” They both groaned and laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline on this is a bit iffy, it's post-Ragnarok in the sense of Loki and the Grandmaster's history together, but before he sends Odin away? *hand waves*


End file.
